West Coast Living

In Lee's words: "You can't visit California without going to the beach!"

Here are some gorgeous pictures he took on their outing today:

What a beautiful creation God has made....

"Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours." 1 Chronicles 29:11

As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, I pray that we have a desire to know our Creator more intimately and that we take comfort in knowing that we all belong to a great, powerful, loving, and compassionate Heavenly Father.

Have I Mentioned?

How much I love my husband? God has blessed me with an amazing man who, especially over these past few months, has stepped up and done above and beyond his fair share of work within our family. I pray that I never take him for granted.

At this moment he is out with BOTH boys taking them to see Christmas lights at some park somewhere. I am at home...cherishing the lack of movement around the house and just relaxing. Here are some pictures of the man I love:

A took this picture at his birthday lunch

This is a picture of Lee and my cousin's adorable son- we love being near family! 

The boys have really been doing well. I am proud of them. A is especially affectionate lately- seeking me out for lots of hugs and snuggles. I love it. We've all had a lot of quality time with each other and with extended family.

Oh, I guess some of you may be interested in news about our third little man? Looks like we will know more about that in the middle of January. I am definitely relieved that I will have at least a few weeks with just two boys versus three.

Alright, I am going to continue relaxing now...

We Survived!

Lee and I are a good team. After a lot of last minute packing, cleaning, picking up of medication, trips to the bathroom....we made it safely to the West Coast!

Here are some pictures from our trip so far:

David was a big help. He pushed A in the stroller so that both Lee and I had two free hands to carry bags. It was great! He really wanted to push the stroller....we didn't force him, promise.

The boys peeked out at the plane before boarding. 

Finding our seats. 

Window seat! 

Waiting for take off. 

Waiting for the tram to take us to the entrance of Disneyland. My cousins kindly joined us for our adventure. It was so nice to spend time with them and to have the extra pair of hands!

David danced down Main St. He was SO excited. 

Spinning in the Tea Cups. 

 The day after Disneyland, we drove the boys down to San Diego to spend the day with family. David played a little with his cousin, Kaleb, and patted his baby cousin, Lilly. The highlight was bouncing in Kaleb's bounce house. He also got to drive in Uncle Jimmy's car and they had a nice conversation about rocks:). David had been waiting to see his abuelo and abuela and on our way home, he informed us, "I love them SO much."

 A is now a big three year old! Here he is saying 'hi' to Santa and David is trying very hard to tell him about his new shoes.

We have had such a nice time here so far and have truly enjoyed all of the quality family time we have been able to have. I am still trying to fight off whatever virus I picked up over a week ago. I can't wait to get over it so that I can truly enjoy some snuggle time with all of these adorable little babies we have in our family now:).

I might write more tomorrow as we may learn more specifics about A's little brother.

Learned Something New

I guess I never really realized the importance of 'things.' Probably because I have never lost all of my things or had them taken away. Actually, I try not to place too much importance on 'things,' but for a child...it is different.

A came with more than most children - plenty of clothing, a toy, some books...

Today, however, we were finally able to bring home his toys. It is amazing the difference it has made! He seems even happier and more at home. He actually gave David a toy and asked him to help him fix it. He NEVER would have done that in the past because of the fear that David would take it.

Anyway, I just had to share that tonight I learned how important it is for children in foster care to be able to have as many of their 'things' as possible. A is really starting to settle into our family. I feel it. His goodbyes continue to be easier and easier and he is much less irritable with me when his mom is around. He's trusting me and is responding so well to the boundaries we have set.

He is an adorable, sweet, passionate, little guy and I can't wait to see what the future months have in store for all of us!

Still Sick, but Thankful

I'm usually very healthy, but Friday night I was hit with a horrible stomach virus and was up pretty much all night visiting the restroom and trying to sleep.

Lee was out of town and I was so thankful that a dear friend came over to help me on Saturday with the boys so that I could sleep. When Lee came home, he took over and was amazing. I slept most of Sunday and returned to work today. Mistake! I wound up back in bed tonight with a fever and after three days of not eating much...am just now finally regaining my appetite. Whew.

Our place looks like a tornado has hit and I have no energy to do anything about it. It's fine...the boys are fed, bathed, and daddy's taking great care of them- that's what matters, right?

Despite feeling sick, I am so thankful for how God has provided for our family through friends. Friends who are so busy themselves, and yet have gone out of their way to make time to help.

Despite feeling miserable, I am so thankful that when I spend time with boys....I see how much progress they have made over this past month or so! A is talking so much more, car rides are much less eventful, and well....the boys just seem to be settling a little more.

David asked me today when A would be going home with his mom. He wonders how long he has to be away from her. This is going to be difficult for him and I need to be more sensitive to him....

Alright, time to get some rest so that I can continue to fight this virus!

I'm Writing Because...

...I don't have enough to do:).

Ok, that's not true. I just feel like writing a little before I head to sleep. The kids' lunches are packed for tomorrow, laundry is done, dishes are done, work is mostly done, and all I have left to do is fall asleep (now that is a task I don't mind).



I wanted to write a little about David. He has had some really sweet moments and some really not so sweet moments lately. I'll just write about the sweet moments.  Maybe even some funny ones.

On our drive home today, David talked a little more about A's little brother. We'll call him little A.

"I'm excited for little A to come live with us. I will make sure that he only plays with the safe toys, ok, mommy? I love little A." 

David recently learned about Mexico in his classroom and he was so excited when I showed him where it was on a map. Mexico makes him think of his daddy and Jaqueline of course. Here are some of his comments about Mexico, Jaqueline, Ashley, and heaven.

"My daddy was born in Mexico and Jaqueline lives there too. Ashley doesn't live in Mexico. She lives with Jesus in heaven. I'm so excited to go to heaven, mommy!"

David's birth mom asked that he write a gift list for our visit tomorrow. We wrote one this morning and it looks like this:


1) a big truck 
2) a race car 
3) another race car
4) another big truck 

David loves looking at the sky on our drive to and from work. The other day he commented, "Mommy, look at what a beautiful sky God made for us!" 


Thank you, God, for giving me two (soon to be three) sons who are full of life, love, and laughter. I pray that I won't ever take these precious moments for granted.

Worth It

This is a link to a video that I have been watching almost every night. I have yet to finish it without needing a tissue....

Depraved Indifference

Tonight I had an amazing conversation with David's birth mom. I love that she feels like a part of our family and also like a really good friend. She reminded me during our conversation about how God has consistently provided for our family. She asked,

"Remember when you were in the apartment and we needed a bigger house and we weren't sure how that was going to work, but God gave us a bigger house? And remember when you got into that accident and you needed a new car and I prayed for you and you told me that you had a new car? Sometimes I get angry with God about things, but I have been thinking a lot and I think He just wants us to help each other."

She then told me that she had money in savings and wanted to help us buy a bigger house because she sees how we are helping these other children and she wants to be a part of that too.

Wow.

My heart was touched. Not only because of the fact that she offered her hard-earned money, but because of the fact that her heart is so big that she is thinking not only of her son, but of the other children that God has called us to love.

Moments like this make me realize that we are simply a part of a bigger purpose.  Thank you, God, for using our family and our children to touch the lives of others in ways we can't even imagine...making all of the challenging moments totally and completely worth it!

Big Decision Made: Let Us Love...

I don't always understand God's timing, but I do trust that His purpose is always perfect.

Yesterday we were asked to consider welcoming A's 10 month old brother into our home. The boys need to be together and so if we declined, a home willing to take them both would be found. We were in agreement and support of the boys growing up together whether it was with us or with another family. The issue of space was/is our only problem.

I asked Lee to make the decision and we asked many of our close friends and family members to pray for him to have wisdom. He asked for me to give him a few days. It only took one...

To be honest, I was really surprised that his answer was 'yes' and even a little bit overwhelmed at the thought of having three boys. However, when I learned of how God provided him with this answer, I calmed down a little and we started talking logistics. Where are we all going to sleep? How will we fit? What do we have to do to get this place ready to sell? What if we can't sell? Where do we want to live? So many questions without answers. So many opportunities to trust in God, right?

We said goodbye and I sat down to write you all the Bible verse that God gave to Lee to confirm this answer:

 "We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also out to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need, but shows no compassion- how can God's love be in that person?" 1 John 3:16-17

Then I read the verse right after...."Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions." 1 John 3:18. Look familiar? It is a different version, but if you take a look at the top of my blog...it is the same verse:).

So...ok, God, we're listening and as ready as we'll ever be! Please equip us to love these children as YOU love them....enable us to give up our lives for them just as Jesus did for us.